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Abstract
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The disposition of a large sample of early childhood abuse and neglect cases was followed up via criminal records. The majority of the children were placed outside the home, primarily in foster care. Kinds of placement and factors affecting placement decisions were examined. Differences in arrest rates were found between children placed solely because of abuse or neglect and those placed for abuse or neglect in conjunction with delinquency. Similar results were found for foster care placement. Placement alone did not appear to increase risk of criminal behavior.
VioLit summary
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this article by Widom was to examine the role of placement for juvenile court cases of child abuse and neglect with regard to delinquency and adult criminal and violent criminal behaviors. This study was based in a framework of life experiences as a buffer between early childhood experience and negative outcomes.
METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental retrospective case study design was employed for a non-probability sample of 772 cases of child physical and sexual abuse and neglect in a county juvenile court in a midwestern metro area from 1967 to 1971. Children were under age 11 at the time of the incident that led to the court appearance. Secondary sources were used - official records of the juvenile court, of the probation department and of the case worker, as well as official records of delinquency. Physical abuse was defined as "cruelty to children" with allegations that a person "knowingly and willfully inflicted unnecessarily severe corporal punishment" or "unnecessary physical suffering" upon a child (p.199). Sexual abuse ranged from the general "assault and battery with intent to gratify sexual desires" (p.199) to specific cases of fondling, sodomy or incest. Neglect was when, according to the court, the child received no adequate care, was homeless or destitute, or was in physical danger in his or her environment. Juvenile delinquency was measured as arrest before the age of 18, excluding traffic violations, and violent behavior included arrest for various types of robbery, assault, battery, manslaughter, murder, rape and sodomy. Analyses included examination of frequencies and multiple regressions.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
For 32 of the children, there was no record of whether they had been placed, and 31 had been made wards but had not been removed from their homes. These cases were removed from the analyses, leaving 709 children. Only 14% of these children had not been placed through age 18. More than half of the children who had been abused or neglected had been placed in foster care (55%), with 26% spending time in a Guardian's home and about 5% being placed in some type of facility for the mentally impaired. About half had been placed only once, 16% twice, 12% three times and 4% more than six times. 56% were placed between 6 and 11 years of age, although 24% were placed before the age of two. The earliest age of placement overall was for those entering foster care, for an average stay of 5 years. 88% of males, 82% of females, 87% of whites and 81% of blacks were placed. Children who had been both physically abused and neglected were most likely to be placed, and those suffering only sexual abuse were least likely to be placed. The age of the child did not influence the likelihood of placement, although children were more likely to be placed if they had an alcoholic parent or a psychiatrically ill mother. Family disruption also influenced placement - children were more likely to be placed if their parents were separated, if the mother or father was unknown, or if no other relative could care for them. No difference was found for those children whose parents had a criminal record. Parental mental illness, mother's alcoholism and criminal record, having a parent whose whereabouts were unknown, behavior problems in the child and child's race predicted the amount of time spent in placement. Outcomes of placement were divided into three groups: those children never placed; those placed only for abuse or neglect; and those placed for both abuse or neglect and delinquency. Those children who were never placed, or who were placed only for abuse or neglect, had similar arrest outcomes, although both differed significantly from those placed for abuse or neglect plus delinquency - those in the first two groups were six times less likely to be delinquent, three times less likely to be adult criminals, seven times less likely to have both juvenile and adult arrests, and three times less likely to be violent. Number of moves was also related to each of these four arrest outcomes. Males moved more than females, as did those children with behavior problems. There was no difference in number of moves between whites and blacks. Those children whose initial placement occurred when they were older exhibited higher rates of delinquency and adult criminality, whilst children who had spent more than ten years in their initial placement had the lowest overall arrest rates. The highest rates were for those who spent four to six years in their first placement. The author concluded that the best outcome was for children who were youngest at the time of their first placement, who stayed in that same place for more than ten years, and who did not make frequent moves.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author suggested the need to differentiate between placements related to abuse or neglect and those that were a function of behavior problems or delinquency. The importance of examining the role of family factors influencing placement decisions was also stressed, as was the need to consider the child's characteristics to see who could benefit from placement. It was recommended that laws be revised so that placement would be more stable, and that more research be conducted into the relationship between childhood victimization, intervening variables and later criminal behavior.
EVALUATION:
This study provides an important insight into the effects of mediating variables upon adult criminality. However, its reliance upon twenty-year-old data, especially in the form of official records, suggests that the results be approached with some caution. Most states at that time had no mandatory reporting laws, so that the data used in the study probably represent only those extreme cases that made their way to court, thus underestimating the nature of the problem at that time. If conducted with today's data, the results could be very different. Despite these limitations, the study provides an important base for future research. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Child Abuse-Crime Link
KW - Child Abuse-Delinquency Link
KW - Child Abuse Effects
KW - Child Abuse-Violence Link
KW - Child Neglect Effects
KW - Child Neglect Victim
KW - Child Physical Abuse Effects
KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim
KW - Child Placement
KW - Child Victim
KW - Childhood Experience
KW - Childhood Risk Factors
KW - Childhood Victimization
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Violence Causes
KW - Violence Risk Factors
KW - Crime Causes
KW - Crime Risk Factors
KW - Delinquency Causes
KW - Delinquency Risk Factors
KW - Juvenile Court
KW - Juvenile Crime
KW - Juvenile Delinquency
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Adult Crime
KW - Adult Offender
KW - Adult Violence
KW - Foster Care Placement
KW - Foster Care Effects
KW - Long-Term Effects
Language: en |